Led by first team selections Kylee Ah Choy and Angelica Figueroa from Pacific, the Big West placed 10 players on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-West Region squad Thursday.
Cal Poly teammates Coral Hoover and Julianne Grinstead joined Long Beach State's Lindsay Bullock, Pacific's Maricela Padilla and Rochelle VanBuskirk of UC Davis on the NSCAA All-West Region Second Team. Big West representatives on the all-region third team included UC Irvine teammates Dana Sanderlin and Tanya Taylor as well as Cal Poly's Carissa Voegele.
The 10 selections represented nearly one-third of the 32 total players honored by the NSCAA. The west region consists of schools from the Big West, West Coast and Western Athletic Conferences.
Ah Choy and Figueroa were named to the All-Big West First Team after a solid 2009 season. Ah Choy anchored a Pacific defense which finished third in the Big West with a 0.85 goals against average. She tied for third on the team with three assists. Figueroa led the Tigers in points (20) and assists (8) while adding six goals. The eight assists topped the league circuit while her 20 points tied for third.
Hoover was a stalwart in goal for Cal Poly as her 11 shutouts tied a Big West single-season record. She led all conference goalies with 113 saves and a .919 save percentage. Grinstead was part of a Mustang defensive effort that contributed to the league-leading 11 shutouts and 0.78 goals against average. Grinstead, a first-team all-conference choice along with Hoover, scored a team third-best four goals on the year.
Bullock claimed NSCAA All-West Region Second Team accolades for the second consecutive season. Starting all 19 matches for the 49ers, she posted four goals and one assist for nine points. Her 48 shots also ranked the fifth-most in the Big West.
A freshman superstar in her first year with the orange and black, Pacific's Padilla earned all-region honors despite missing the season's final seven games with a knee injury. She still blossomed as the Tigers' top offensive threat with eight goals, which ranked fourth in the Big West. Padilla finished with a league fifth-best 18 points.
In her senior season, VanBuskirk paced UC Davis with league-leading totals of 13 goals and 30 points. She scored four more goals than any other Big West player. VanBuskirk nearly accounted for half of the team's 28 goals.
Third-team all-region honoree Sanderlin brought rejuvenation to the UC Irvine offense as the Anteaters led the Big West with 37 goals. Sanderlin tied for fifth in the conference with six goals and her 16 points tied for sixth.
UC Irvine's Taylor earned all-region acclaim for the first time in her career as a junior. She equalled Sanderlin's scoring output with six goals and four assists on the year.
Cal Poly's Voegele started all 18 matches she played in and had one assist. She joined teammate Grinstead on the backline of the conference's top-ranked defense.